Monday, March 31, 2008

Thinking About Thinking of You, Summertime, I Think It Was June

Congratulations to Mr. Peter Pope for correctly naming "Island in the Sun" by Weezer as the Saturday Song of the Day.

Through a post on Prof. Osler's blog, I came across what could be a first for the old interwebs: Fans providing reviews of a new stadium through a blog.

Here's a description of the "Grounds Crew" blog at the Washington Post site:

Want to know which food stall at the new Nationals ballpark has the best hot dog? How the bathrooms are? Tips for driving, taking the Metro or getting through the gates? This is the place.

Grounds Crew is a blog written by a team of fans who will kick the tires on everything about the new park and its environs. Each Crew member will attend many Nats games and blog on the good, the bad and the ugly about the experience of the new facility.

As fans, you're laying out your hard-earned money to attend Nationals games, and Grounds Crew team members are no different. Think of them as your consumer advocates, but they want and need your help. Through comments on the blog, you can post your own observations, tips, recommendations and insights, and help us get a great conversation going about our new stadium. So visit the blog early and often, and please participate; it's going to be an exciting year!

This is pure and utter genius, my friends.

What baseball aficionado doesn't want to sit near the vendor who yells out "Hotttttttttttttttttttt Dogggggggggggggggggg" in a voice that sounds as though it spent the day mixing concrete?

You want the peanut guy whose arm is so strong that he's actually the backup rightfielder? This blog will show you where to find him.

Do you want to know which section will allow you to throw foreign objects towards the field during the "Running of the Presidents" while still maintaining a certain degree of anonymity and avoiding possible criminal prosecution? The answers can be found at the Grounds Crew blog, my friend.

It's like a Ouija board, ladies and gentlemen, only with less creepy, occult overtones.

Okay, you're right. They're nothing alike.

I just wish the Broncos would have thought of this first. Who wouldn't love to read a blog post on the finer aspects of Mile High Stadium concessions from the Barrel Man?

Labels: , , , ,

Saturday, March 29, 2008

It Makes Me Feel So Fine I Can't Control My Brain

Congratulations to Mr. Andrew Tuegel for correctly naming "Read My Mind" by The Killers as the Friday Song of the Day. Sam's Town may have been a sophomore slump for the Las Vegas-quartet, but "Read My Mind" is everything that I love about the Killers rolled into one tune.

Perhaps some of you out there scoffed at the legal system when the D.C.-based administrative law judge sued the Mom and Pop* Korean dry cleaners for tens of millions after they allegedly lost his pants. Some of you also scratched your heads when a federal inmate sued his fellow federal inmate, the infamous Michael Vick, for allegedly aiding and abetting the subversive activities of Al Qaeda, but a suit filed recently in the U.S. District Court in Honolulu may take the proverbial cake in the realm of legal oddities.

"Asking a Judge to Save the World, and Maybe a Whole Lot More" by Dennis Overbye in today's New York Times.

More fighting in Iraq. Somalia in chaos. People in this country can’t afford their mortgages and in some places now they can’t even afford rice.

None of this nor the rest of the grimness on the front page today will matter a bit, though, if two men pursuing a lawsuit in federal court in Hawaii turn out to be right. They think a giant particle accelerator that will begin smashing protons together outside Geneva this summer might produce a black hole or something else that will spell the end of the Earth — and maybe the universe.


Scientists say that is very unlikely — though they have done some checking just to make sure. The world’s physicists have spent 14 years and $8 billion building the Large Hadron Collider, in which the colliding protons will recreate energies and conditions last seen a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang. Researchers will sift the debris from these primordial recreations for clues to the nature of mass and new forces and symmetries of nature.

But Walter L. Wagner and Luis Sancho contend that scientists at the European Center for Nuclear Research, or CERN, have played down the chances that the collider could produce, among other horrors, a tiny black hole, which, they say, could eat the Earth. Or it could spit out something called a “strangelet” that would convert our planet to a shrunken dense dead lump of something called “strange matter.” Their suit also says CERN has failed to provide an environmental impact statement as required under the National Environmental Policy Act.

This quarter in Natural Resources Protection and Water Law, we've frequently discussed that the National Environmental Policy Act is an effective tool for environmental protection groups that want to counteract forestry operations in southeast Texas, increased cruise ship traffic in Glacier Bay, Alaska, or mining in Montana, but using it as a tool to put the brakes on a super-collider (operated by a European research institute in Geneva no less) that will allegedly create earth consuming black holes?

Me thinks someone has been watching a bit too much Lost.

Current Reading

The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

*Not to be confused with the Mom and Pop shoe-repair shop that Kramer ruins on Seinfeld after noticing that their wiring is faulty.

Labels: , ,

Friday, March 28, 2008

The Good Old Days, The Honest Man, The Restless Heart, The Promised Land

Congratulations to two first-time Song of the Day winners, Ms. Jennie Bauman and Mr. Peter Pope, for correctly, and collectively, naming "Be Mine" by David Gray as the Thursday Song of the Day.

I suppose that now is as good a time as any for the yearly "It's late March/early April, and hope springs eternal for every baseball fan" post, and let's be completely and utterly honest here, if you are a fan of the baseball franchise that resides in Arlington, Texas, you need more hope than an inmate in Shawshank State Penitentiary.

With that said, I have become a daily reader of the Rangers blog at the Dallas Morning News website. Throughout my life, I have never considered myself a pessimist, but a few more years supporting the Rangers might do that to a man. The curiously optimistic aspect of pessimism is the repeated idea that if your expectations are low enough, it is incredibly difficult to be disappointed on a regular basis. I guess that's the most accurate and succinct summation of how I feel about the current state of the Rangers franchise.

That's not to say that I'm not excited about minor-league prospects like pitcher Eric Hurley, short-stop Elvis Andruz, first-baseman Chris Davis, and catcher Taylor Teagarden, but the big league club is currently in a difficult spot. Almost all of the pre-season publications that I have seen are picking the Rangers to finish 3rd or 4th in the American League West, and the semi-glory days of the mid to late 90's seem like light years away, but then again, if the expectations are so low, anything more than complete and utter mediocrity will seem like a gift from the baseball gods.

According to manager Ron Washington, the opening day (3/31) lineup will probably look a little something like this against Seattle :
  • 2B Ian Kinsler
  • SS Michael Young
  • OF/DH Josh Hamilton (Referred to by fans in Cincinnati as "Roy Hobbs". Always a good sign in my book)
  • OF Milton "Monopoly" Bradley
  • 3B Hank Blalock
  • OF David Murphy (Baylor Alum)
  • OF Marlon Byrd
  • 1B Ben Broussard
  • C Gerald Laird
Veteran Frank "White Goodman" Catalanotto will be prominently involved in the outfield/designated hitter duties throughout the season as well.

The Rangers seem to have a good mix of younger players (Kinsler, Murphy, Hamilton), familiar faces (Blalock,Young, Catalanotto), and certifiable head-cases (Bradley).

I'm not promising that this is going to be the year when the Rangers win the World Series.

I'm not promising that this is the year that the Rangers win the ALCS.

I'm not promising that this is the year that the Rangers win the AL West for the first time since 1999.

I'm not even going to promise that this is the year that the Rangers have their first winning record since posting an 83-79 mark in 2004.

Um, I just read those last 4 sentences, and this hope thing is looking a bit like a sham. Oh well, the season begins on Monday. See you in Seattle.

Labels: ,

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Like You Reached Right Into My Head and Turned on the Light Inside

Somehow, simply by posting this article, I'm fulfilling Brian Stelter's prophecy.

No idea what I'm talking about? Keep reading.

According to interviews and recent surveys, younger voters tend to be not just consumers of news and current events but conduits as well — sending out e-mailed links and videos to friends and their social networks. And in turn, they rely on friends and online connections for news to come to them. In essence, they are replacing the professional filter — reading The Washington Post, clicking on CNN.com — with a social one.



“There are lots of times where I’ll read an interesting story online and send the U.R.L. to 10 friends,” said Lauren Wolfe, 25, the president of College Democrats of America. “I’d rather read an e-mail from a friend with an attached story than search through a newspaper to find the story.”

In one sense, this social filter is simply a technological version of the oldest tool in politics: word of mouth. Jane Buckingham, the founder of the Intelligence Group, a market research company, said the “social media generation” was comfortable being in constant communication with others, so recommendations from friends or text messages from a campaign — information that is shared, but not sought — were perceived as natural.

Ms. Buckingham recalled conducting a focus group where one of her subjects, a college student, said, “If the news is that important, it will find me.”

Also, something that is sure to drive my Dad crazy...the Facebook/My Space friend stats for the various candidates (also found in the Stelter piece):
  • Barack Obama-1,000,000 (combined)
  • Hillary Rodham Clinton- 330,000 (combined)
  • John McCain- 140,000 (combined)
Somehow, I think John McCain doesn't give a second thought to websites like Facebook and My Space, and frankly, I think that's a good thing. He's the kind of guy who always seemed more closely suited to the 19th century rather than the 21st. We will see in November if the American electorate thinks that is an asset or a liability.

Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

And It Really Didn't Have to Stop, It Just Kept On Going

Congratulations to Mr. Andrew Tuegel for correctly naming "High Speed" by Coldplay as the Tuesday Song of the Day.

I've purposefully kept the posts regarding America's Team to a minimum during the offseason, and this will probably be the only Cowboys-related post until the draft later this month, but a topic has arisen in the Valley Ranch universe that is impossible to ignore.

NFL renegade Pacman Jones, who is currently serving a suspension at the mandate of Commissioner/Sheriff/Camp Counselor Roger Goodell, is currently making major overtures to ensure that he is involved in the league next year playing for the team with one star on their helmets. The "Make It Rain" Maestro went as far as to appear yesterday on Michael Irvin's (a Hall-of-Famer who had his own ups and downs on and off the field) radio show to discuss his desire to move to the 'Boys next season.
Here's the problem: throughout the interview, Pacman acknowledged that he had made some bad decisions in the past (visiting gentleman's establishments, distributing large sums of cash at said gentlemen's establishments, and generally leaving a greater path of destruction in his wake than the tornado that destroyed Greensburg, KS*), but he also pinned some of the blame for those incidents on the police and members of the media.
I'll be one of the first people to tell you that the media in America, sports or otherwise, does not exactly do its part in portraying events accurately, and the police are not always the "good guys", but Pacman, my formerly dread-locked friend, you cannot continue to run from the likely fact that besides Michael Vick, you are the most-loathed (current/former) player in the league. Well, except for Brandon Jacobs among Cowboys fans, but that's another story for another time.

As I told the gentlemen at The Jig and Twig, I would rather that the Cowboys utilized one of their first-round draft picks (#22 or #28) on a corner (Antoine Cason, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Leodis McKelvin, etc.) rather than taking on the potential locker room cancer that is the Pacman Jones experience*. I understand that given the more stringent NFL disciplinary guidelines, teams may be willing to take chances on questionable character guys by short-term, performance-clause heavy deals, but it seems that the Cowboys are ready to put together another great season in '08-09, and I don't want the locker-room to turn into another reformation project for Jerry & Co.

*Too soon for that one? Probably so.
**Never to be confused with the Alan Parsons Project or the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

We've Been Living Life Inside a Bubble

Congratulations to Mr. Joey Halbert for correctly naming "Writing to Reach You" by Travis as the Monday Song of the Day.

Normally when you visit the friendly confines of Running Down a Dream you are not confronted with an atmosphere that resembles a Middle Eastern bazaar, but that does not mean that we are not willing to schill for a great cause every so often.

Those of you who have known me for a few years are aware that I worked at Wilderness Trek Christian Camp during the summers of 2003, 2004, 2006, and 1/2 of 2007. The ministry of Trek holds a special place in my heart, and if you have had the opportunity to visit Salida, Colorado, I'm sure it has a special place in your heart as well.

That's why I'm proud to let you know about an opportunity that I recently became aware of to help support Trek as well as that nagging coffee addiction.

Trek has partnered with Dallas-based Coffee With a Cause to raise the funds needed to provide scholarships for deserving students and to keep the cost of Trek as low as possible for all participants.An order will give you a freshly roasted bag of coffee with your name on it for only $10.95, and $3 dollars of every bag goes directly to helping the ministry of Wilderness Trek.

The coffee-deniers among you (coughmysisterKatiecough) will likely scoff at the notion of purchasing the vile brew, but come on, this one really is for the kids.

Labels: ,

Monday, March 24, 2008

Whatever's In My Head Won't Go Away

For three more months (maybe more!) the campaign will proceed along in its Verdun-like pattern. There will be a steady rifle fire of character assassination from the underlings, interrupted by the occasional firestorm of artillery when the contest touches upon race, gender or patriotism. The policy debates between the two have been long exhausted, so the only way to get the public really engaged is by poking some raw national wound.

For the sake of that 5 percent, this will be the sourest spring. About a fifth of Clinton and Obama supporters now say they wouldn’t vote for the other candidate in the general election. Meanwhile, on the other side, voters get an unobstructed view of the Republican nominee. John McCain’s approval ratings have soared 11 points. He is now viewed positively by 67 percent of Americans. A month ago, McCain was losing to Obama among independents by double digits in a general election matchup. Now McCain has a lead among this group.

For three more months, Clinton is likely to hurt Obama even more against McCain, without hurting him against herself. And all this is happening so she can preserve that 5 percent chance.

When you step back and think about it, she is amazing. She possesses the audacity of hopelessness.

"The Long Defeat" by David Brooks in tomorrow's New York Times.

Labels: , , ,

Every Day I Wake Up and It's Sunday

Congratulations to Mr. Dan Carlson as the winner of last week's Caption Contest with this inappropriate, yet incredibly hilarious, submission:
"Grandpa orders from the male side of the menu at Emperors Club VIP."

Such a statement connected with a picture of former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Tom Brady, and Eli Manning makes me want to take a nice long swig of Drano, but I'm trying to see the humor in the situation. Thanks to everyone for entering last week's Caption Contest.

And without further ado...this week's edition of the greatest thing to happen to the internet since the birth of Al Gore, the Running Down a Dream Caption Contest.
My submission: [Guy in the front row] "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll go buy you a bag of popcorn, a beer, and cotton candy when that bull leaps over the wall and into these stands in a single bound. What's that? Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

As always, the Caption Contest runs through Sunday. If you win this week, you get to heap further grief on Luke Reeves for supporting Duke Basketball, the Ebola Virus, and everything else wrong with the world.

Note: Thanks to the good folks over at Deadspin for the "jumping bull" photos.

Labels: , ,

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Not What You Should Be or What You've Become

I've never been one of those people who swore that the first 4 days of the NCAA Tournament are the greatest days on the sporting calendar, but in my opinion, the first weekend of March Madness is a bit like stuffing at Thanksgiving: It's not everyone's absolute must-have item, but you're kidding yourself if you don't get a little hop in your step when it comes around every year.

Sure, the Bears may have lost to the Boilermakers 90-79 on Thursday (which you know is actually a flattering score for Baylor if you watched any portion of the public whipping, ahem, game), but all in all, an appearance in the NCAA Tournament was an unexpected surprise for a team that could not even play non-conference games as recently as two years ago due to the Dennehy/Dotson/Bliss scandal.

Let's be honest, though, my friends. The real reason I sat down to write tonight is not the Baylor men's basketball team, it's not the surprising upset that the Davidson Wildcats sprung on Georgetown, and it's certainly not the primal screams of an NCAA-hyped Gus Johnson*.


No, the true reason I come to you tonight is to send a very special message to Luke Reeves, Cody Blair, and each and every member of the Duke Basketball family:
Look on the bright side, at least Coach K has more time this off-season to film those American Express and State Farm Commercials.

P.S. Luke, you can still cheer for the Yankees, Lakers, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, and Microsoft.

*I know that I've posted that video before, but it's just too much fun to leave out of the rotation.

Labels: , ,

Friday, March 21, 2008

Talk About Us Instead, Talk About Why Did It End

Perhaps you dreamt that the coverage of The Beautiful Game had disappeared from the pages of Running Down a Dream, but you were wrong, my friends, oh so wrong.

Last night in Nashville, the U.S. Men's National Team secured a spot in the Beijing Olympics with a 3-0 victory over our neighbors to the north, Canada, also known by some as "America's Hat".The preceding picture probably destroyed whatever Canuck readership I had for this blog, but judging from the visitor location map to your right, I think I'm going to be okay without that portion of my audience. Well, at least for a few days.

Anyway, here's a video of all 3 goals from the match, including two free-kick goals from your friend and mine, Freddy Adu.

You know what? Judging by the venom that I receive for soccer posts, I'm just going to combine my weekly Liverpool post into this one simply to spite all of you.

The draw for the Champions League quarterfinals and semifinals was last Friday, and the results look a little something like this:
  • Manchester United (England) v. AS Roma (Italy)
  • FC Barcelona v. Schalke (Germany)
  • Chelsea (England) v. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
  • Arsenal FC (England) v. Liverpool FC (England)
Yes, that's right. Liverpool somehow managed to draw Arsenal in the Round of 8, and if the Reds progress past the Gunners, they have the joy of (most likely) meeting Chelsea for what would be their third Champions League semifinal clash in the last 4 years with the Blues.

I'm not saying Man. U. paid off anyone at UEFA, but if you see some European guys with new dental work in the near future, well, you know where the cash for that came from, don't you?

Labels: , , , , , ,

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Hurry Here, Hustlin' There, Nobody's Got the Time to Spare

Congratulations to Mr. Joey Halbert for correctly naming "Brighter Than Sunshine" by Aqualung as the Tuesday Song of the Day. Remember kids, as Joey said, "You should never put this song on a CD for a girl. It's bad luck." I'm sure there's a story there, and if we're lucky, we just might hear it one of these days.

Thanks to the good folks over at Deadspin, I learned today that representatives for John Madden and Charles Barkley are threatening imminent legal action over the DISH TV advertising campaign which features Frank Caliendo and his ubiquitous impersonations of prominent* celebrities including Madden, Barkley, Dubya, Dr. Phil, Al Pacino, et. al.

As someone that is in training to become an attorney, you would probably expect for me to provide salient legal analysis on the relative merits of the potential claim. That's reasonable, I guess, but it's not on tap today. Instead, you're getting a quick recap of what has become perhaps my favorite response to a commercial in the last 5** months.



After the commercial finished, instead of making a statement that representatives for DISH TV should be standing by for the incoming call from the offices of Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson for a blatant and ham-handed use of blackface, one of my fellow viewers made the following statement:

[Person whose name has been removed to protect his/her identity]: "Wow, Charles Barkley has really let himself go."

That, my friends, is transcendent comedy.

*I use that term loosely
**Arbitrarily chosen number.

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

My Heart Was Broke, My Head Was Sore, What a Feeling

As I was talking with one of my friends recently, the topic of World's Biggest (Current) Band came up, and we both ended up deciding on U2 without much disagreement. Perhaps you disagree with our conclusion, and that's fine, but the real question we had was who are the 5 greatest frontmen/frontwomen (if that's an actual term) in rock history?

I realize the question falls into the trap of constant arbitrary list-making that is the good old internet, but hey, it's the internet, what else are we going to do with it?

Some groundrules:
  • The person may have served a solo artist at some point in their career, but they are known primarily for their work with a band/group.
  • Even though a band/group may have done some landmark work, if you have to think for more than 5 seconds about who is actually the face of the band (i.e. Lennon or McCartney for the Beatles) then you've answered the question already.
  • There's really not any other groundrules. I just felt the need for three bullet points.
Let's get started...in no particular order:

Mick Jagger
Even though the man may look like a dancing corpse these days, he's one of the figures on the Rock and Roll Rushmore for the last half-century. It's hard to imagine the current theatrics of most lead singers without Jagger's manic stage influence.

Bono
The man has elevated the idea of rock star/philanthropist/statesman/spokesman to a new level. Sure, Chris Martin is making a good early run at the archetype, but he has a long, long way to go before he reaches the stratosphere that Paul Hewson currently occupies. Also, even though his voice is not what it was in the early to mid 80's, the man still knows how to captivate mass audiences around the world.

Bruce Springsteen

Here's where I come the closest to violating Groundrule #1. I'm working on the premise that the vast majority of The Boss's (not George Steinbrenner) work has been done with the E Street Band, and thus, Bruce is not operating as a "solo" artist. It seems that the thread running through the first three figures is the ability to stay relevant, in some form or fashion, for a number of years.

I'm not sure if you gain some sort of legitimacy for simply being in the public eye for a certain number of years, but ever since the masterpiece that is Born to Run, Springsteen has captivated audiences far and wide. Also, he manages to play concerts in his home state of New Jersey without the audience constantly booing. They're actually saying, "Bruuuuuuuce."

Jimi Hendrix
Again, I'm working on the assumption that Hendrix did most of his best work with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Whether it was lighting his guitar on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 or the unforgettable and maddening version of the National Anthem at Woodstock, Jimi Hendrix has worked his way into the popular musical consciousness of America like few artists before or after him. The landscape of guitar playing would look much different if Johnny Allen Hendrix had never left the 101st Airborne Division.

Thom Yorke
In what will probably be the most controversial (that is, if anyone actually cares) choice of the five, I'm going with Thom Yorke as the final member of the top 5. It seems that Yorke, along with his bandmates in Radiohead, have always been at the vanguard of musical adaptation and evolution in the past 15 years, and the results of last year's decision to sell In Rainbows on the internet sans any type of record deal are still being felt in the music industry and will probably be felt for years in the future. If anything, Yorke is the reluctant figure at the front of one of the world's most recognizable bands, but his influence will probably be truly understand only in the future as a new generation of musicians continues to further change the paradigm.

Honorable Mention:
  • Kurt Cobain
  • Roger Daltrey
  • Robert Plant
  • Jim Morrison
  • Bob Marley
  • Eddie Vedder
  • Axl Rose
  • Don Henley
So, there's my take. Feel free to tell me where you think I went wrong and how you would write the list differently.

Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, March 17, 2008

You Keep on Rolling, Put the Moment on Hold

Congratulations to Mr. Dan Carlson for correctly naming "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor as the Saturday Song of the Day.

Despite disparaging remarks from the General Robert Montgomery Knight (Bobby to you and me), the Baylor men's basketball team was chosen for the Big Dance/Whole Enchilada/All the Marbles/Whole Shebang/etc. last night by the NCAA Selection Committee. There's no word yet on whether Bobby's anger arose from the fact that the Bears defeated Tech twice this year, including his son's debut earlier this season in the Land of the Bear.
In a geographic anomaly that could only be created by sports, the Bears are in the tournament's West Region, but somehow play their opening (and possibly second-round) game(s) in Washington, D.C.

All of the first-grade readers of Running Down a Dream are now scratching their heads and asking their parents,

"But Mom and Dad, I thought Washington, D.C. was on the EAST coast."

"Well yes, Timmy, it is, but this is also the same country that kept the Arizona/Phoenix Cardinals in the NFC East for years. Also, whoever taught you to think logically?"

Nonetheless, the Baylor Bears will take to the floor at the Verizon Center on Thursday to face the juggernaut that is the Purdue Boilermakers. You always have to be wary of a team that is still haunted by the specter of Gene Keady's combover, but I digress.

Labels: , ,

Saturday, March 15, 2008

He Works in the Saddle and He Sleeps in the Canyons

It may be the middle of March, but that does not mean we cannot continue to pursue America's Pastime.

Baseball?

No, my friend.

The Caption Contest, courtesy of the good folks (ahem, folk) at Running Down a Dream.

This week's photo:
My submission: "Tom, tough loss in the Super Bowl. Honestly, I still cannot believe that Manning kid beat you in the clutch. What's his name, ummmm, ah, who cares? Anyway, as I was saying...oh, Eli, hello. I had no idea you were standing there. I thought you were a cardboard cut-out. How are Peyton and Archie?

As always, place your submissions in the comments section. The Caption Contest runs through Sunday, the 23rd.

Labels: , , , ,

Friday, March 14, 2008

Laughing Out Loud Makes It All Subside

Perhaps I'm far behind on this, but those catchy Apple commercials have this maddening, yet enjoyable, way of working into your head so that you find yourself humming the tune even though you have no idea who sings the song or if you wish that Steve Jobs would die of leprosy. Not that I wish that Steve Jobs would die of leprosy or anything.

Let's just move on.

After repeated viewings of the commercial for the new Mac Airbook, I did a little investigating and found out that the song accompanying the commercial is called "New Soul" by Yael Naim.



The P.C. v. Mac debate rages on like Celtics-Lakers in the 80's, automatic vs. stick-shift, pepperoni vs. sausage, and Seinfeld vs. Friends, but in the land of marketing, it seems that Apple reigns supreme.

P.S. Don't tell Cody Girod about that last sentence.

P.P.S. My Dad's impromptu mocking of "New Soul" last night after the commercial aired will not be short-listed for inclusion in Apple's next marketing campaign. I realize that Apple promotes itself as a self-aware brand willing to mock itself, but no one wants to see this kind of destruction.

Labels: , ,

Thursday, March 13, 2008

I Caught the Flu and Away I Flew

A little food for thought on a Thursday evening...

David Mamet, the force behind Glengarry Glen Ross, Wag the Dog, and The Verdict had an interesting, if not very surprising, recent piece in The Village Voice explaining why he was no longer a "brain-dead liberal".

Now, I am by no means the wisest or smartest person to have ever walked across God's green earth, but it seems that if one is going to stand atop a soapbox and denounce your former political affiliation as "brain-dead", the best soapbox to make that kind of declaration might not be the The Village Voice. Oh well, if Mamet is anything like the characters in his films and plays, he's probably tough enough to deal with the consequences.

Jay Reding has an excellent summary of Mamet's piece here.

Mamet, however, hints at the real basis for conservatism. We can’t cure war. We can’t end all poverty. We can’t make people into angels when they are not. The fundamental principle of conservatism can be roughly summed up into this: “sometimes life just sucks.” Even if we could fix the problems that create war, poverty, racism and injustice to do so would be to have a society robbed of free will—because the root of all these problems are found in human nature itself.

That’s why Mamet rightly describes conservatism as the “tragic” view of human nature and liberalism as the “perfectionist” view of human nature. Conservatives recognize that there is no permanent solution for the ills of mankind—there are only advances which can ameliorate our conditions. We can’t create heaven on earth, we can only fumble around as best we can.

Labels: ,

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Statue of Liberty Play, Only Works Once, Don't Throw It Away

In what is becoming a regular occurrence 'round these parts, Mr. Joey Halbert has once again won the Caption Contest (related to last week's photo of Brett Favre on Draft Day) with this submission:

"A deal with Wrangler? No, they're way too baggy. It's Girbaud or nothing. Yeah, make sure they know I shave my quads."

It really was a simpler time back in the early 90's when people could wear jorts without looking like a renegade member of New Kids on the Block. Ah, if the early 90's were the Golden Age for jorts, surely Brett Favre was the Pericles of that age.

(Turning to Camera Two)

If you missed it, and I'm sure you did, Liverpool pulled off what the press are labeling "An Italian Job" in securing a great win 1-0 yesterday in Milan against Internazionale to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. I would regale you with video of the wonder strike by Fernando Torres that ensured the Reds' place in the Final 8, but UEFA polices the internet like the Feds police Eliot Spitzer (and the hits just keep on coming, folks). The draw for the quarterfinals and semifinals is taking place Friday in Nyon, Switzerland, and you can rest assured that Running Down a Dream will have full coverage of the festivities.

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

When We're Wrong, Please Correct Us

Update: After getting called out for neglecting to mention the most recent Song of the Day Winner, I must congratulate Mr. Andrew Tuegel for naming "Staring at the Sun" from U2's 1997 album Pop.

Do not worry, my ever-faithful readership. I have not fallen into some piney-woods black hole during my return home for Spring Break. I'm just trying to lay low for a week before things get started again in the Land of the Bear on St. Patrick's Day.

I'll be back tomorrow with the winner of last week's Caption Contest, thoughts on Liverpool's outstanding 1-nil victory over Inter Milan at the San Siro today, and more fun than should legally be allowed in the blogosphere.

Until then, stay safe, stay smart, and don't go to Eliot Spitzer for advice on "after-hours" activities.

Labels: , ,

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Don't Try Too Hard to Think, Don't Think at All

Congratulations to the person who posted anonymously this afternoon at 3:07 for correctly naming "A Pirate Looks at 40" by Jimmy Buffett as the Wednesday Song of the Day. Anonymous, if you wish to receive the plaudits and accolades that accompany a victory in the Song of the Day contest, you know where to find me.

Update:The aforementioned mystery man/woman was in fact Mr. Jacob George Straub. Yes, your friend and mine, Chicago. Congratulations, sir.

HBO's landmark series "The Wire" will air its final episode this Sunday, March 9th. Before the show leaves the airwaves, at least until syndication, the writers of the show decided to share a very interesting, and thought provoking, message with their audience.

Our leaders? There aren't any politicians — Democrat or Republican — willing to speak truth on this. Instead, politicians compete to prove themselves more draconian than thou, to embrace America's most profound and enduring policy failure.

"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right," wrote Thomas Paine when he called for civil disobedience against monarchy — the flawed national policy of his day. In a similar spirit, we offer a small idea that is, perhaps, no small idea. It will not solve the drug problem, nor will it heal all civic wounds. It does not yet address questions of how the resources spent warring with our poor over drug use might be better spent on treatment or education or job training, or anything else that might begin to restore those places in America where the only economic engine remaining is the illegal drug economy. It doesn't resolve the myriad complexities that a retreat from war to sanity will require. All it does is open a range of intricate, paradoxical issues. But this is what we can do — and what we will do.

If asked to serve on a jury deliberating a violation of state or federal drug laws, we will vote to acquit, regardless of the evidence presented. Save for a prosecution in which acts of violence or intended violence are alleged, we will — to borrow Justice Harry Blackmun's manifesto against the death penalty — no longer tinker with the machinery of the drug war. No longer can we collaborate with a government that uses nonviolent drug offenses to fill prisons with its poorest, most damaged and most desperate citizens.

"The Wire's War on the Drug War" by Ed Burns, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, and David Simon.

Labels: , ,

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

My Occupational Hazard Being My Occupation's Just Not Around

I was notified yesterday by an ardent fan of Running Down a Dream (yes, they exist) that I had not announced the winner for last week's Caption Contest, and lo and behold, I have neglected my duties to you, my ever faithful readership.

Fear not, for I come bearing one of those awards show envelopes containing the winner of last week's contest, who happens to be................Mr. Ryan Searcey. His winning submission for this photo:"I can't believe I screwed Searcey out of a victory in the Caption Contest last week in favor of that AGGIE Mike May. What in the hell have I done? I better go hide!"

Much thanks to the Editor-in-Chief of the Blahg, Mr. Joey Halbert, Mr. Ben Grant for their submissions. I also appreciated the hypothetical answer I received from Mr. Mike May.

This week's Caption Contest focuses on the momentous events which occurred yesterday. Sure, we can talk about that "Presidential Election/Primary" thing, but let's talk about something that has the ability to cause grown men (see: John Madden, Peter King, and the entire male population of Wisconsin) to weep like schoolgirls: The retirement of Brett Favre.

In honor of gritty, gutty #4, this week's photo takes you back to where it all began for Favre: the day he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons after an illustrious career at the University of Southern Mississippi.My submission: "Yes sir, I would love to play for the Falcons. A $1,000,000 signing bonus? Gee, that's great. I can buy at least...............250 new pairs of jorts with that kind of cash. Thanks again, sir. Bye."

As always, place your submissions in the comments section, and best of luck to everyone. The Caption Contest runs through Sunday.

(Photo courtesy of the good folks at Deadspin)

Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

With a Love So Hard and Filled With Defeat

Clinton had sounded like a traditional executive, as someone who gathers the experts, forges a policy, fights the opposition, bears the burdens of power, negotiates the deal and, in crisis, makes the decision at 3 o’clock in the morning.

But Obama sounded like a cross between a social activist and a flannel-shirted software C.E.O. — as a nonhierarchical, collaborative leader who can inspire autonomous individuals to cooperate for the sake of common concerns.

Clinton had sounded like Old Politics, but Obama created a vision of New Politics. And the past several months have revolved around the choice he framed there that night. Some people are enthralled by the New Politics, and we see their vapors every day. Others think it is a mirage and a delusion. There’s only one politics, and, tragically, it’s the old kind, filled with conflict and bad choices.

Hillary Clinton has fought on with amazing resilience since then, and Tuesday night may well bring another surprise, but she’s always been the moon to his sun. That night in November, he defined the campaign.

"A Defining Moment" by David Brooks in today's NY Times.

What's going to happen in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont, faithful readers of Running Down a Dream?

Any predictions, prognotistications, or views into the political crystal ball?

Here's my predictions:

For the GOP, I see McCain winning Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont, but narrowly losing out to Huckabee in the Lone Star State. That would not exactly be the vote of confidence that McCain needs heading into the fall against an re-invigorated Democratic party, but it seems to be a result that would reflect the fractured state of the Republican party at the moment.
For the Dems, I see Obama winning by a fairly comfortable margin in Texas, winning by a close margin in Vermont, but losing squeakers in Ohio and Rhode Island. That means Senator Clinton will almost certainly stick around through the summer, even as her margin for error continues to diminish.

Wait a second, while we're in the predicting mood, here's my thoughts on today's second-leg Round of 16 matchups in the Champions League:
  • Arsenal-AC Milan: Despite the fact that midfield maestro Clarence Seedorf will likely miss the match for Milan, the return of Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, and Alessandro Nesta bodes very well for the defending champions. Milan will advance with a 2-1 victory at their home ground, the San Siro.
  • Barcelona-Celtic: After winning 3-2 at Celtic Park a fortnight ago, Barcelona are the heavy favorites to advance in this tie. Even though Celtic will fight hard to withstand the Barcelona effort at the Nou Camp, the Scottish side simply do not have the ability to hold back weapons like Henry, Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, et. al. Barcelona advances with a rather comfortable 3-1 win.
  • Manchester United-Lyon: Karim Benzema's 54th minute goal for Lyon in the first leg of this tie made things interesting, but Carlos Tevez's 87th minute equalizer put the Red Devils in prime position to advance to the Round of 8. Tonight at Old Trafford, I expect Man. U. to continue to push down on the accelerator and bring home a 2-0 victory. I don't like it one bit, but the Red Devils are going to be awfully difficult to stop this year.
  • Fenerbahce-Sevilla: After capturing a 3-2 home win in Turkey, Fenerbahce heads into their match with Sevilla with a slight advantage, but the Spanish side always play well at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Despite a noble effort from Fenerbahce, I expect Sevilla to capture a 2-1 win at home to advance to the Round of 8.

Labels: , , , , , ,

Monday, March 3, 2008

Catching Rides to the Outskirts, Tying Faith Between Our Teeth

A very interesting article in today's Washington Post on the continuing debate in San Francisco over the topic of placing some type of barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge for the purpose of suicide prevention.

His life flashed before his eyes, Baldwin said, but it was not his past:

"It was my daughter. It was my dog. It was my wife. It was my family, mom, dad, brothers. And I thought: This is horrendous. They're going to be devastated.

"And I was going down at the time. The one time I clearly understood the consequences of what I was doing, it was too late. I just went, 'Oh. I'm an idiot.'

"And from here on out, things get blurry.

"I looked down at the water, and it's rushing up at me, and I black out. I don't remember anything more about the fall itself. I don't remember hitting the water. The next thing I do remember is I'm swimming and I'm thinking, 'Someone, please, help me. I want to live.' "

The next thing Baldwin knew, he was on a Coast Guard cutter and people were cutting away his clothes. "They were saying, 'Do you know who you are?' 'Do you know what you did?' 'Do you know why you did it?' 'Do you have a phone number?'

"One of them said: 'Do you want to do that again?'

"And I remember chuckling. 'No. Not really.' "

"The Golden Gate: A Bridge Too Deadly?" by Karl Vick in today's Washington Post.

Labels: , ,

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Running for Our Lives at Night

The latest Russian Presidential election and Seinfeld might just be a match made in heaven.

What's that?

You don't believe me?

Let's take a quick trip down memory lane with Kramer, Morty Seinfeld, and Vladimir Putin.

In an episode entitled "The Wizard" (original air date February 26, 1998), we venture to the friendly environs of Del Boca Vista Phase III to see machine politics in all its glory. After retiring to Florida in the wake of a fortune generated by his best-selling coffee table book on coffee tables, Kramer is encouraged by Morty Seinfeld to run for President of the Condo Board. Morty's intentions are not entirely pure though, as he plans to install Kramer "in a puppet regime and wield power from behind the scenes."
Such a strategy is doomed from the start, and although Kramer receives positive press from the journalistic juggernaut that is the Boca Breeze, he is ultimately brought down when the members of the Condo Board receive "Willards" instead of "Wizards".

Long story short: the puppet regime is destined for failure.

In oddly similar circumstances, the Russian electorate has chosen Dmitry Medvedev as its next President. Medvedev, a close friend and associate of current President Vladimir Putin, has apparently managed to avoid distribution of "Willards" to the Russian oil oligarchy, but he has a long way to go before the world believes he is not another victim of a Morty Seinfeld-esque power-play courtesy of the soon-to-be Prime Minister, the aforementioned Vladimir Putin.
I'm not sure if the Russian citizenry is more politically astute than the good residents of Del Boca Vista Phase III, but almost everyone knows a sham when they see one.

Labels: , , ,

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Someday, Everything is Gonna Sound Like a Rhapsody

As a follow-up to Tuesday's post on ACU's new iPhone/iPod Touch program, I thought I would bring together a few different voices from the interwebs on the topic:

Finally, the videos that started the phenomenon can be found here:

"Connected" Part 1: Social Uses

"Connected" Part 2: Academic Uses

Also, here's a video featuring ACU professor Dr. Bill Rankin and Director of Public Relations Lynne Bruton explaining the concept behind the videos:

Labels: , ,